


To Be Or Not To Be; There Is No Try

by FoolishWit



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Shakespeare, M/M, References to Shakespeare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26223460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoolishWit/pseuds/FoolishWit
Summary: AU storyline set generally within the parameters of Star Wars locations. Rey has lost so much, and yet she is determined to pursue the truth, get justice for those she loses along the way, and ensure those in power don't get away with murder. If you're a fan of Hamlet, read on.
Relationships: Finn & Rey (Star Wars), Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

...:::...

“You’re late! Come on! I can’t believe you’re late!” Rey almost tackled Poe as he approached the table where his friends all waited. Plates and empty glasses greeted him reproachfully; a drink was pushed into his hand. Rey kissed him on the cheek and pointed at the open stool right next to hers. “We’d planned on four, and I’ve been ordering with that in mind since we arrived, so now you’ve got some work to do, my friend!”

Poe made a show of smiling as he raised the purple shot he had been given to his lips, although he hated alcohol distilled from plums. “That almost made me wish I hadn’t come!” Poe spluttered after he swallowed, grimacing as he coughed. “That was foul. You _know_ I hate those!” he scolded Rey. 

“Then maybe you should have been here on time to stop me from ordering them!” she taunted, handing him another brightly colored drink. “Here. We’re already several drinks in--you have to catch up!” 

“Wait, hang on, first thing’s first…” Bypassing the seat saved for him, Poe set the second drink down on the table and enveloped the guest of honor in a tight hug. “Congratulations, Finn,” he said warmly. 

“Thank you!” Finn replied, grabbing the edge of the table with one hand to keep from tipping off his stool under the force of the congratulations. He clapped Poe on the back with his other hand, partially to return the hug, but mostly to give himself added balance. “And thank you for coming out tonight to celebrate!”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Poe said, his smile fading slightly as he sat down and realized how much alcohol he had waiting for him. “Well this explains why you practically fell into my arms a second ago,” Poe said, tilting his head toward Rey, but not taking his eyes off the array of full and varied cocktail glasses in front of him. He rolled his shoulders as if he were preparing for a fight. “You’ve already had this much to drink?” he asked incredulously.

“It’s a special occasion!” Rey insisted, raising her own drink in the direction of Finn. “We’re here to celebrate Finn’s graduation!”

“And here I thought we were celebrating his new career!” Rose chimed in, raising her glass towards Rey’s.

“We’re being thrifty and using my graduation drinks to also celebrate my job,” Finn said, offering a solution that allowed both women to be correct. 

BB-8 bumped against the table leg from below, jostling the drinks on the table enough to get noticed, but not enough to spill them. It beeped its own well wishes at Finn, and wobbled, its lighter extended in a thumb’s-up.

“To Finn!” Poe agreed, joining in the toast. He brought his glass back to his mouth, and Rey quickly placed her hand under the bottom of it, preventing him from lowering it back down. 

“Catch up! Catch up!” she coaxed. 

Poe batted her hand away, and coughed, setting his now half-finished drink down. “Remind me not to show up late to these parties anymore,” he managed, shaking his head and coughing again. 

“Yeah, why the tardiness today?” Rey asked. “Not that you’re usually Mr. Punctuality...”

“I was working on a new maneuver in one of the restored ARC-170s and totally lost track of the time.”

“That’s what we figured. But give us a call next time,” Rose said, pointing at the others. “These three were convinced you’d tried something more stupid than usual and smeared yourself across the landscape in that thing.”

“Give me a little credit, guys,” Poe said, rolling his eyes.

“Okay, then why didn’t you call?” Rey asked, nudging his drink closer as a hint.

Poe wrinkled his nose apologetically. “My communicator is dead. I fried it earlier this afternoon when I tried uncoupling the S foils… while the heat sink was still hot.”

“See, now that’s what we’re talking about--you tried to uncouple the S coils while--? You’re lucky you didn’t burn off your eyebrows and stop your heart in the process.” Rey admonished as he pulled his communicator from his pocket and tossed it like a lifeless rock onto the table. “And I suppose you want me to fix it,” Rey said, staring at the object. “Not that I can’t, but do you think I just walk around with spare parts and wire strippers in my pack?” she asked, reaching for the singed device.

Poe’s reflexes weren’t dulled by alcohol, so he snatched his communicator from the table before his friend could reach it. Raising an eyebrow, he curled the small piece of electronics in against his chest defensively. “Hey, I can fix it without your help,” he said, narrowing his eyes playfully. “You’re not the only one with technological talent around here, Rey.” 

Rey leaned back and held up her hands. “Okay, okay, let’s see how you fare. Whenever you realize you’re in over your head, feel free to hand it over.”

Poe wrinkled his nose and gave a little shake of his head as if to say, _won’t be necessary_. With one hand he reached for his drink, while the other hand disappeared under the table and handed the communicator off to the droid at his knee. 

“That’s cheating!” Rey yelped as Rose began to laugh. 

“Thanks, buddy.” Poe winked at BB-8 who had already started zapping the electronics back to life. 

“So, how does it feel to be official, with a degree and a job?” Rose asked, tilting her head to look sideways at Finn. With exaggerated self-deprecation she added, “I only ask because--despite being the last person to start your trades training by several years--you’re the only one who has achieved the distinction of _actually_ having a job.”

“Rose, seriously, did you have to remind us all about that?” Poe asked, wrinkling his nose. 

BB-8 beeped from the edge of the table, looking up momentarily from Poe’s device on the floor. 

“Okay, yes, you’ve also got one, technically,” Rose corrected herself. 

Finn took a sip of his drink and shook his head. “The only reason you three are all still in school is because you’re working on masters degrees. Or a doctorate!” he added, looking at Rose.

“Be that as it may,” Rey interrupted, “it’s still incredibly impressive that you’ve managed to graduate with full honors _and_ win a Progression Award for your ideas in--in… Don’t tell me… in...?” 

Finn let his friend struggle for a moment with an amused smile on his face before putting poor Rey out of her misery. “Sustainable Mimics and Fertilizer-Augmented Waste Management,” Finn supplied. Rey had never been able to remember the details of Finn’s chosen field of study. 

“Yes--that-- _and_ secure an amazing job with the planet’s infrastructure department.” Rey grinned across the table, and Finn shifted somewhat awkwardly in his seat and attempted to brush off the compliments with a short, dismissive noise. “Honestly, I find your lack of faith in yourself disturbing! You’re incredible! And it’s high time you recognized that-- _truly_ recognized that-- and push all you have to offer out into the galaxy for others’ lives to be improved by. Just the way you’ve brightened all of our lives so far. You’re an awesome human being, Finn, and we’re so lucky to have you in our lives. To Finn!” she finished with a flourish, and raised her glass, prompting the others to do the same. 

BB-8 beeped and wiggled, surveying the empty glassware littering the table. 

“No, not another round; if I have too many more, I won’t be able to find my way home,” Finn protested. “I’ll end up sleeping here at the Nunnery!”

“No, no--” Rey protested. “We’ve got you covered. Rose is very responsible when it comes to personal portion control, and BB-8’s not imbibing, so even though Poe and I will be completely useless to you by the end of the night, _those two_ \--” Rey pointed at the pair. “--will make sure you get home safe and sound.” 

Not needing much in the way of convincing, Finn gave in. “Okay, okay… one more.”

“Nope, we are seeing you off into the world of functioning members of society with the full-octane stuff,” Rey said immediately, elbowing Poe to catch the togruta server behind him. “We need four Corellian ales here, and another basket of the Nubian flatcakes!” she called in the direction of the server, shouting above the increasing noise in the pub. 

Before the order could be confirmed, Poe spun on his stool and caught the server with a smile. “I’m sorry,” he said, leaning toward her. “I’m sure my friend here meant to say please, but she was raised in a terribly backwards household, and we’re only just now beginning to civilize her.” Poe rolled his eyes and continued, “Doesn’t ask for things nicely; look at her--doesn’t even take her arm bracers off indoors--talks with her mouth full…” Poe’s smile grew as the server’s stressed frown slipped, and the corners of her lips began to turn up. “We’d love four Corellian ales when you get a chance, but there’s no rush, since we’re celebrating; we don’t want the party to end too early…” 

With a nod and a genuine smile, the server disappeared back into the crowd.

“What, no number? No date? No invitation back to your place this evening?” Rey teased. 

“We’re here for Finn tonight, Rey, I’m trying to not monopolize the attention,” Poe said with a self-satisfied smile, flicking Rey’s arm bracers to further drive home the point that sparring gear was not appropriate when out with friends. She swatted his hand away, but began unlacing and tugging them off. 

“Do you realize your technique to win the server’s attention just now was based on insulting her female competition? You made her feel good by tearing down Rey.” Rose wrinkled her nose disapprovingly. “Not the best method.”

Poe cut his eyes toward Rose, staring at her for a brief second before his face relaxed into a confident, easy grin. “No: I won her over by insulting the patron who had been rude to her. Rey is _not_ her competition.”

Rey pretended to be affronted by her friend’s casual dismissal of her potential viability as an object to be flirted with. “I could be competition!” she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest and feigning a pout. 

“Nope. No competition. Not even a fair fight.” Before Rey could respond, Poe powered on, “And if I change my mind later, I know where she works,” Poe added, gesturing around them. “If I decide I want a date, I’ll just come back and ask her then.”

“Ugh, you are _such_ an egotistical flirt,” Rey groaned, rolling her eyes. 

“Is there a problem with that?” Poe asked.

“Well...you could be a bit more selective,” Rose suggested. When Poe raised his eyebrows questioningly, she continued, “It’s just that it’s hard to take you seriously when you flirt so shamelessly with everyone. Basically anything that moves. And even then, I think you would bend that rule and turn your charms on an inflatable toy blurrg if that was the only thing in the room and you were bored.”

BB-8 nodded enthusiastically while explaining that something similar _had_ happened at a Wookie party last year.

“Oh, come on!” Poe kicked at the droid, but it had already rolled out of reach, bumping into another patron at a neighboring table. Poe shouted a hasty apology at the glaring twi’lek as BB-8 scooted back to the group. Returning his attention to Rey and Rose, Poe said primly, “I take offense to that, ladies. My standards are much higher than ‘anything that moves.’ By your estimation, that would include transports, Ben Solo, and that little plastic drinking porg in a top hat that sits on Rey’s desk.”

“Oh--no--no, wait, uh-uh…” Rose suddenly pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes as if trying to push out an image. “Now I’m imagining Ben trying to flirt,” she said with dismay. 

This was met by a rousing chorus of laughter and horror, followed by several impressions of what an amorous Ben might entail, the most successful of which was performed by his adopted brother. 

“Good evening,” Finn said, barely suppressing a smile as he pretended to greet Rey with a comically deepened voice, moving around Poe toward her. “My name is Ben Solo, and I think you’re attractive. You seem ambitious and without empathy, which is exactly what I look for in a lover, because it reminds me of me. I saw you here last week, and after a brief temper tantrum, I used my security clearance to run facial recognition on you. I’ve tracked you down--” Amid snorts of laughter, Finn extended a stiff hand toward Rey and cupped her cheek awkwardly as he stepped closer. “--so that we might rule the galaxy together, dressed all in black and wearing matching sour expressions.”

“Uggghh!” Rey gave a shudder and squeezed her eyes closed. “Ew, I feel dirty. Do they have shower stalls in the refreshers here?” she cried desperately, swatting Finn’s hand away. Finn moved to return to his seat on the other side of the table, but Rey linked arms with him and scooted over, pulling Finn close enough to share her wide stool.

“That was good, Finn,” Poe admitted, “but I think Ben would use more four- and five-syllable words to _really_ turn a lady on--” 

“People do seem to underestimate the seductive power of a good vocabulary.” The deep voice startled the group at the table, and everyone looked up in surprise to see Ben standing several steps away, easily missed in the dim lighting and thick crowd of the pub. 

“ _Kriff_ ,” Rey said flatly, not bothering to hide that she obviously thought the quality of their little party had just taken a nosedive. 

Poe was the first to recover, smoothly stating, “I don’t underestimate it. In fact, I myself have been accused of circumlocution on occasion.”

“Well, _that’s_ a big word,” Rose said quickly, thoroughly grateful for the conversational distraction as Finn slid off of Rey’s stool to greet his big brother, clasping his offered forearm. 

BB-8 whistled suggestively, joining in. 

“That’s not what the word means, buddy, but I’m also not going to deny that,” Poe agreed, puffing up his chest proudly. “I know lots of big words. In fact, I don’t mean to brag, but some have even said that the size of my--”

“No, no--” Rey cut him off. “Whatever you’re going to say? Don’t. I don’t want to hear some thinly veiled double entendre that demonstrates just how witty you are,” she explained, turning from the table toward the new member of their party. “Ben! It’s been too long. I see you’re still adept at sneaking up on people in an incredibly creepy way?” 

Rey didn’t budge from her seat, refusing to physically greet him the way the rest of her party had. Rey and Ben had never gotten along, and Finn was usually the only reason they tolerated each other. Rey loved life, and the pursuit of knowledge, and the thousand beautiful things and possibilities that popped into her head at any given moment during the day, and she found Ben to be incredibly harsh and depressing, not to mention prone to unpredictability and on more than one occasion, downright violence. He seemed to be an intolerable mix of ambition and pessimism, and Rey didn’t agree with his politics or his methods. It was like he simultaneously believed that anything could be achieved with hard work and perseverance, and also that the average person was too stupid, lazy, and undisciplined to achieve anything. Several years ago after an argument Finn was present for but refused to talk about, Leia had thrown Ben out of the house, and the two hadn’t spoken for years. Worse still, he never seemed to feel a moment’s remorse about whatever he’d said to cause the estrangement. 

Rey hated that Ben didn’t see what a wonderful mother he had. Leia Organa was the perfect parent as far as Rey was concerned, and yet Ben seemed to only have disappointment--bordering on contempt--for her. He’d never bothered to hide the fact that he considered General Organa’s peace keeping appointment in the military to be an embarrassing waste of family talent. Leia was a constant source of level-headed diplomacy in the higher echelons of the planet’s government, but her son seemed staunchly opposed to being proud of his mother.

And disrespecting Leia was something Rey had never been able to abide. 

Ben nodded a silent greeting at Rose and ignored BB-8 before turning to Poe. “Dameron.” Ben offered his hand. Poe’s jaw clenched slightly at the awkward formality, and there was a moment’s hesitation before he reached out and accepted the handshake. 

“You know, your dedication to calling me by my last name over the years would be admirable if it weren’t so annoying,” he pointed out. 

Ben frowned. “You’re going to be a pilot--people are going to refer to you by your last name for the rest of your life.” 

“We’re at a _bar_ ; do you _ever_ unclench your--?” Rey’s mumbled response was cut short as Rose kicked her under the table.

BB-8 raised Poe’s repaired communicator to place it on the table next to him as the togruta server reappeared, carrying a large tray of chilled Corellian ales. 

Rey cleared her throat and started over, passing the drinks around the table. “--I propose _yet another_ toast--!”

“This is the fourth one!” Finn lamented, slightly embarrassed at the constant speeches in his honor. He accepted the ale Rey handed to him while BB-8 suggested Ben help Poe with his drink backlog, since Rey hadn’t ordered enough to include the new addition to their party. Ben grabbed one of the drinks stacked in front of Poe without glancing at the droid. Rey glared at him. 

“-- _another toast_ \--” Rey repeated, her voice increasing in volume and a smile reappearing on her face, “--to the newest member of the planet’s work force, the sweetest person I know, and one _hell_ of a friend… Finn!”

A resounding chorus of various shouted congratulations erupted from the table as the cocktails were held aloft and clinked over the center of the table.

Finn grinned as he took a generous swallow of his drink and set it down decisively on the table. “I’ll be right back,” he announced.

“No! Where are you going?” Rey asked, winding one arm around Finn’s waist and tugging him back onto their previously shared stool. “This is your party--there’s no way I’m letting you up. The last time you did this you tried to buy a round for all of us, and that’s not going to happen tonight.” 

“My bladder kindly requests you let me leave the table,” Finn explained, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll be right back--no funny business, I promise.”

“Oh, okay, _fine_ ,” Rey grumbled, teasing. “I guess if you _have_ to…” Finn was released, and he made a beeline for the back of the dark pub. 

The Nunnery wasn’t the only bar in town, but it was certainly the most interesting, and the most expensive. Owned by one of the best droid manufacturers on the planet, it was originally operated exclusively by a team of N-0N3s, squat, sleek machines whose black and white paneling reminded most people of the habits worn by the devotees of an old local religion. The building itself had been one of their places of worship prior to technology and convenience bleeding away most of the followers over the centuries. The walls were old, worn stone, with steep, curved struts that climbed alongside the towers on top. The stained glass windows made rainbows dance on the walls if the suns hit them at the right angle in the afternoon, and the mix of hanging lanterns, candelabras, and chandeliers made for a dim, ancient atmosphere at night that was like nowhere else in the city. The standard lighting in most other structures was tested, and uniform, and _optimal_ , and the gloom of the Nunnery was delightfully mysterious. 

After initial reviews that the Bar N-0N3 (the official name on the marquee) was too sterile and devoid of character, the owners hired people to fill out half the staff to give the establishment a slightly more personal touch. The other half of the work force remained the original droids, and the nickname of “nunnery” stuck with a lot of the locals. 

Finn pushed the door of the fresher open when he was done and ran straight into his big brother. 

“Hey--look where you’re going--” Finn stepped back from the broad chest he’d collided with and looked up as Ben reached out a steadying hand to keep Finn from toppling. 

Ben looked down at his brother seriously. “Your infatuation with Rey needs to end. Now.”

...:::...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! *waves* I love Star Wars, and I love Shakespeare, and it just seems like with as many deaths as there are in the galaxy we all adore, it's only right to create a Hamlet AU with these characters. I will definitely take some liberties with genders and alignments, but there will be a general inspiration of Hamlet throughout. And, just for shits and giggles, I made the first couple paragraphs of the story a sonnet. Because why not.
> 
> “You’re late! Come on! I can’t believe you’re late!”  
> Rey almost tackled Poe as he approached  
> the table where his friends all waited. Plates  
> and empty glasses greeted him reproach
> 
> fully; a drink was pushed into his hand.  
> Rey kissed him on the cheek and pointed at  
> the open stool right next to hers. “We’d planned  
> on four, and I’ve been ordering with that 
> 
> in mind since we arrived, so now you’ve got  
> some work to do, my friend!”Poe made a show  
> of smiling as he raised the purple shot  
> he had been given to his lips, although 
> 
> he hated alcohol distilled from plums.  
> “That almost made me wish I hadn’t come!” 
> 
> Tee hee. :)


	2. Chapter 2

...:::...

Finn started spluttering his objections, his face flushing, but Ben hushed him with a dismissive hand. “I haven’t said anything before now because I figured it was just a phase. But every time I come back to visit you seem more and more enamored with her, and it’s a _problem_ , Finn.”

A woman approached them and squeezed past down the hallway. Finn stepped aside quickly and looked down at the ground, hating the feeling of embarrassment that crept up his neck. Other than Rey, of course, his older brother was the last person on Earth he wanted to have this discussion with. 

“Rey is not flirting with you, even if it seems that way,” Ben explained unemotionally. “No matter how many times she sips out of your drink or puts her arms around you, she doesn’t mean any of it beyond the affection of a sister for one of her siblings. She’s paying you as much attention as she would a pet.”

Finn’s gut twisted, and he wished he’d refused the last drink that had been shoved into his hands. 

“And even if she hadn’t grown up thinking of herself as part of our family, she’s not someone you should set your sights on. She’s training to be a Jedi--a solitary existence that doesn’t allow for the kind of relationship you’re looking for. Essentially, she’s taken.” Ben noted the clenching of his brother’s jaw: a small, unconscious signal that he was upset by the topic of conversation but unwilling to argue the point. Ben had always wished he’d been able to open his brother’s eyes to the people of the world, but it was no use. Years of trying, and Ben still thought Finn was as naive as a child. 

“Rey is a good person,” Finn said adamantly, refusing to look at his brother. 

“Rey isn’t a _bad_ person,” Ben corrected. “But she’s dedicating her life to meditation and out-dated principles. The Jedi say they’re compassionate, and yet they abandon family members, arbitrarily choose who they will and will not fight for, and glorify their supposed piety. She’s not really going to work for a living. The Jedi don’t contribute to society.” Ben ticked off his points on the fingers of one hand. “She’s been brought up by Luke Skywalker, with all the ego and none of the follow-through that comes from that legacy. She’s wasting her talents and running headlong at an existence devoid of real substance. There is no room for you in that, and you’re only setting yourself up for failure,” Ben said, gesturing back toward their table. 

Another jew clench. 

“Finn, I’m not saying this to hurt you,” Ben said, his brother’s sensitivity irritating him, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m saying this because I don’t want to see you embarrassed. Which is exactly what you’ll be if Rey finds out about your sad devotion to her. Even if she were an exemplary, mature human being, and even if she _didn’t_ think of you as her brother, _Jedis are not allowed romantic relationships_. You are setting yourself up for failure in several different ways, and mark my words: this is not going to end well if you tell her.”

Finn glared at Ben and kept his mouth shut. 

“Do you understand me?” Ben prompted.

“ _Okay_ ,” Finn hissed, desperate for the conversation to be over. He wished he had the courage to fire back at Ben that he wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. 

Ben nodded and turned away, walking back toward their table. Finn closed his eyes and leaned back against the cool stone wall behind him, counting slowly to twenty. Even as kids his brother had seemed like a commanding officer, and he hated that he hadn’t learned to stand up to him over the years. Finn stuffed his hands in his pocket and his fingers brushed over a small, firm piece of paper. Finn’s shoulders sagged as he pulled it out and reread the scrap that had been pinned to his door that morning. 

_Today’s the day! Congrats again, Finn! See you at the ceremony, and then we’ll celebrate until the suns come up!_  
Love you to the outer rim and back,  
Rey xoxo 

Finn bit his lip, read the card one last time, and tossed it in the nearest trash can on his way back to the table. 

“He’s back! Finally!” Rey bellowed as Finn reclaimed his original seat, quietly slipping onto his stool as if he could join the party again without being noticed. “Here--this one was yours!” Rey leaned across the table to push Finn’s drink toward him. 

“Thanks,” Finn said, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“So, Finn--” Rose noted the slump in Finn’s shoulders, pausing slightly before continuing. “--you haven’t told us what your new job entails!” she prompted brightly, hoping to nudge the new graduate’s mood back toward what it had been before he’d left the table. “I know you’d looked into several different positions. Do you know yet which part of Infrastructure you’ll be in?”

Finn nodded, licking his lips. “Yeah--the new pipeline project. Near the meiloorun groves,” he said, his voice barely audible above the loud music now coming from the band that had still been setting up when he’d left for the refreshers. “We have to completely re-route the pipes that bring the processed fertilizer to the fields from the...” Not meeting anyone’s eyes, Finn shrugged. “I know it’s not fancy, or--” He cut his eyes toward Ben briefly. “--or influential, but… I still think the work will be interesting.”

“Of course it’ll be interesting!” Rose said, still attempting to coax a smile from Finn. “That was your first choice, right?”

Finn nodded, but said nothing else, taking a long swig from his drink. 

Rey frowned, confused. “What’s going on, Finn--what’s up? Your mood has just…” Rey narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Ben. “Did you say something to him when you left the table a minute ago? You’ve been here all of ten minutes, and you’ve managed to put your foot in it, haven’t you? This is a _graduation party_ , you giant bantha tick--you don’t corner the guest of honor as soon as you arrive and _insult_ him--”

Finn was quick to jump in. “Rey, no, it’s fine, he didn’t--” 

“He just won a Progression Award!” Rey continued, incorrectly assuming that whatever Ben had said to deflate his brother so effectively had been in regards to his profession. Of _course_ he didn’t respect Finn’s chosen career; just like he didn’t respect his mother’s work. Stabbing a finger at him, she leaned closer over the table. “He’s got a degree in something so chemically technical that even when I’m stone cold sober I can’t remember the details of it. His research on fertilizers has already changed the way our plants are grown in the--”

“I’m aware,” Ben said testily. “I’ve read his--” 

“--his work is _important_.”

“You’re right, his work _is_ important,” Ben interrupted and waved a hand at the food on the table. “It’s understandable you’re impressed that in a couple rotations he’ll actually be earning a living, improving food production and helping plan a new footprint for a crucial pipeline. He’ll be a functioning member of society, with a job and a purpose.” Ben raised an eyebrow at Rey. “You should try it sometime.” 

Rey shoved back from the table angrily, and Poe made a grab for her arm. Finn shot up from his chair and moved quickly to stand in front of Rey, blocking her view of Ben. 

“Let’s go get those flatcakes you ordered earlier! I want flatcakes. Rey--” Finn tugged at Rey’s upper arm and looked at her encouragingly. “You keep saying this is my party, and I’m starving. Come with me to get something to soak up all this alcohol.”

Rey stood rooted to the spot, glaring at Ben. 

“Or dancing--we could dance--” Finn added.

“Finn,” Ben said sharply, shooting his brother a warning look. “I don’t think that’s a good idea--”

Ignoring his brother, Finn gave another pull on Rey’s arm. “And Rose? Rose is going to come, too. Aren’t you, Rose?”

Rose swallowed the last of her drink in one large gulp and pushed herself away from the table. “Of course! Yes! Look! I’m dancing with Finn--come dance with us, Rey! Let’s go…”

They both pulled Rey, still scowling over her shoulder, between the tables toward the band and the small throng that had formed in front of them. 

Poe sighed and shook his head, moving over to the stool next to Ben. “I know you and Rey have never gotten along, but you _know_ her, man. You know exactly which buttons to push, and you _had_ to know what you said was going to light her up.”

“She’s spoiled,” Ben said matter-of-factly.

Poe bobbed his head and took another drink. “Yep,” he agreed easily. “But the minute she’s made aware of a deficit in someone else’s life that she can fix, she does it. Whatever it is.” Gesturing to the mess of empty glasses and picked-over plates of food on the table, he added, “She’s the one who ordered most of this, and she’ll pick up the entire tab tonight without even blinking, because she wanted Finn’s graduation celebration to be spectacular. Because she wanted to _spoil_ him.” Poe took another swig of his drink and put it down on the table as he stood. “She went to every ceremony and graduation event Finn had this week. This is the first thing you’ve shown up at. Now, I know--” Poe rushed on before Ben could interject. “--you’ve got a big fancy job, and you report directly to the top brass these days, and we’re all very impressed, but…” Poe shrugged. “Rey has a good heart. And if nothing else, you should appreciate the fact that she absolutely adores your brother, and has done everything in her power tonight to make him smile.” 

Poe tapped his fist on the table. “Now, _I’m_ going to go join the rest of our party. I’d invite you to come with us, but I know you hate dancing, so you’ve just inherited the considerable honor of saving our spot for us.” BB-8 beeped his appreciation for the current song, and the pair moved off toward the dance floor, leaving Ben alone at the table.

...:::...


	3. Chapter 3

...:::...

“Are you _sure_ you’re okay to get home?” Rey asked again as the group stood outside the Nunnery.

“Absolutely fine,” Rose assured her. “I’ve been drinking nothing but Rehydrant cocktails for the last two hours, and besides--” she tapped BB-8 lightly with one finger. “I’ve got my guard droid with me. Anything happens and he’ll hack into every alarm in this place and have scrambled a med transport to my exact location before you can say ‘over protective’.” 

BB-8 beeped quietly.

“Thanks, BB-8.” Rey gave Rose a hug and waved at the droid as the pair headed off in the direction of Rose’s home. 

“Oh, wait--!” Rey’s face fell as she realized there was a flaw in her plan for the evening. Usually, after a night out at the Nunnery, she walked back to Finn’s home with him and crashed in Ben’s old bedroom. “You’re home,” she said, wrinkling her nose in Ben’s direction. They’d come to a silent truce after the spat earlier in the evening, but both of them were still giving the other a purposefully wide berth. 

“Not for long. You can still have my room,” Ben said, his voice deep and tired, though he was still standing with irritatingly good posture. “I’m on the first transport out today. Before dawn. I’ll just make some caf when I get back to the house and then head out.”

“Are you sure…?” Rey asked suspiciously. She wanted to ask if he planned to sneak in and out without seeing his mother, but she managed to bite her tongue.

Ben gave a curt nod. 

“Okay.” Rey turned to Poe and hugged him somewhat inelegantly, having continued to drink with abandon throughout the party. “And are _you_ sure you’re okay getting home?” Rey asked into his shoulder. “I always worry about you when we leave here--you’ve got farther to stumble home than the rest of us.” 

“ _Pff_ ,” Poe scoffed, keeping one arm wrapped around Rey while the other fumbled in her rucksack. He withdrew her communication tablet and tilted his head, keying in her passcode behind her back. She tried to end the hug, but found herself trapped in the loop of Poe’s long arms as he continued working on his technological fidgeting.

“What--what are you doing?” she asked, confused, trying to crane her head around to see what he was up to behind her back.

Poe finally released her and took a step back, holding out the tablet, which she snatched back clumsily. “I’ll be fine!” he said with a smile. “I ordered a speeder. It’ll be here before you get to the end of the block.” 

“On _my_ account!”

“Mine’s still not working right, despite BB-8’s best efforts. Besides, I thought you wanted to make sure I got home safe?” Poe paused and leaned in, his eyes comically wide. “You _do_ want me to get home safe...don’t you?” 

Rey gave a grunt of frustration and waved him off, walking back toward Finn and Ben. “Fine; enjoy riding home in style, you thieving orbalisk. You’re lucky I adore you. And let me know when you need your communicator fixed properly!”

“Oh, come on!” Poe shouted down the block at Rey’s retreating form. “You have to be impressed at my ability to lift your tablet and order a speeder without you realizing!”

“Shh! You’re drunk!” Rey hissed, briefly turning back toward her friend, attempting unsuccessfully to conceal a smile.

“You’re drunk!” he bellowed back with a grin.

“Ugh. We could have had one more round…” Rey insisted as the trio turned a corner and set off in the direction of the brothers’ house. “It’s only midnight!”

“It’s after three in the morning and the bar was closing,” Ben corrected her. 

Rey rolled her eyes and gave a huff, linking arms with Finn and taking a few steps ahead of his older brother. Despite Rey’s impressive level of inebriation, she was well aware that the move came off as a childish attempt at exclusion, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. 

“The weather’s changing. It’s probably going to frost soon,” Rey mumbled, scuffing the heels of her boots as she walked slowly down the street, unwilling to expend the energy needed to raise her feet properly with each step. 

“It won’t frost for another dozen rotations, it’s much too early for that,” Ben couldn’t help but correct her, though his tone was bland and not malicious. He walked several paces behind the other pair, maintaining the space Rey had created. 

Rey wrinkled her nose in response. “I’m cold,” she stated, somewhat petulantly. “I hate being cold. It depresses me...”

“Oh, come on, admit it. You don’t really get depressed,” Finn said with a sleepy smile. “You just get introspective, and that gives you material to meditate on and… y’know, commune with the spirits of ancient monks and stuff.”

Rey stopped short and looked at Finn like he was crazy. “You--you know that’s not what I do...right?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course” Finn said, nodding seriously. They started walking again, but after a few steps he added, “No... no, I actually still don’t understand how all… _that_... works.”

“Mmm, and that’s one of the reasons I love you, Finn,” Rey said, tilting her head onto her friend’s shoulder. “You’re always honest with me.”

Finn’s smile tightened, but he said nothing. 

...:::...


	4. Chapter 4

...:::...

“I see I’ve inherited a daughter for the evening?”

Leia’s voice made Rey smile as she passed through the family’s front door into their entryway. She looked up to find General Organa standing in a robe and glasses in their hallway that led to the bedrooms. Her graying hair was braided, but slightly mussed from sleep. Even in her state of slight disarray, she still exuded an air of dignity.

“I was kidnapped, General,” Rey complained. “These two delinquents grabbed me outside The Nunnery and insisted I come home with them.”

Ben stood in the doorway, a guarded look on his face. Rey couldn’t tell if he was waiting to be invited in, or if he was contemplating the best way to make a hasty exit without having to utter a word. Leia looked at him for a long moment, her face just as much of a mystery as her son’s. “You weren’t at the ceremony today,” she pointed out. 

“I had to work,” Ben responded. 

“Mmm hmm.” Leia nodded, and turned back into the house. “Close the door; it’s going to be cold enough to frost tonight.” 

Without another word, Ben stepped over the threshold, hung his jacket in the hall, and swung the door shut behind him. 

Leia turned her attention back to Rey. “So you said you were kidnapped…”

Rey leaned in and hugged the older woman. “Finn wouldn’t let me go home alone. Your son is very gallant.”

“Oh, it wasn’t gallantry, he was acting under my orders,” Leia joked with a deadpan expression. “You see, I’ve decided to start a rebel pickpocketing gang to steal the wealth of the planet’s citizens, and we’re trying to recruit you.”

“Well, I’ve got news for you, General,” Rey said, dropping her rucksack in the entryway, “I’m not the one you want. Poe’s hands are much sneakier than mine--tell your goons to grab _him_ next time.”

Leia smiled. “Did everyone have a good night?”

Finn nodded, kicking his dirt-stained shoes off next to Rey’s bag. “Fantastic. _So_ fantastic, in fact, that we didn’t trust Rey to get herself home, and since apparently Ben needs to be on a transport back to work before dawn, he said Rey can stay in his room like she usually does.”

Leia frowned and looked back at Ben. “You’re not staying.” Her statement could have been a question, if she hadn’t already known the answer. 

Ben shook his head. “I wanted to congratulate Finn, but I wasn’t sure you’d want to see me.” 

Leia pinned her son with a measured, but kind gaze. “I’m your mother. I’ll always want to see you.”

Rey, too drunk to appreciate the nuances of the reunion, slumped into a large, comfortable chair in the main living space. “The congratulations have been said,” she whispered theatrically at Finn. “Now he’s afraid extending his visit will require him to have a meaningful conversation with his family members, and possibly-- _gasp_ \--even show appropriate human emotions.” 

Finn cut quickly over to his friend and attempted to drag her up from the chair. “You could use some water before bed, and maybe we should be in any other room than this one right now if you’re not going to watch what you’re saying--”

Rey opened one eye and looked over her shoulder at the mother and son still standing by the door. “Be nice to your mom, Ben--!”

“Careful, Rey, he can still take back what he said about you sleeping this off in his bedroom tonight,” Finn pointed out. He sighed, and started off toward the kitchen. “I’ll get her something to drink and start a pot of caf for you, Ben.”

Ben didn’t look at his mother, but scanned the room as if he were cataloging the differences since he’d last been there. “I needed to make this a quick turnaround,” he said. “Elections are next week, and everyone is extremely busy right now. It would be unprofessional to disappear for too long right now.” 

Rey tapped her fingertips together absently, noting the fact that she couldn’t feel them nearly as specifically as she should. She glanced back over at Ben and Leia as they spoke, not really listening to what they were talking about, but getting the sense that whatever the subject was, they were being very careful with their conversation. Leia seemed like she was trying not to spook an animal, while Ben appeared to… Stars, he looked so uncomfortable. Thinking back, she couldn’t remember seeing Ben at ease since childhood. Was he this imposing at work? She didn’t even really know exactly what he did, but knew he had the ear of very powerful people. Maybe they’d taught him to be this severe and ominous. She couldn’t imagine him being _more_ foreboding at work. That had to be impossible. 

It was really too bad, because he had decent broad shoulders and a handsome face. He dressed nicely. His ears were a bit big, but the length he kept his hair really hid most of--

Rey cringed and ran her tongue over her teeth as she suppressed a shudder. She was physically evaluating Ben Solo. Obviously way too much alcohol had been consumed tonight. 

Ben’s brow creased, and his head tilted slightly as he watched Rey’s face twist in disgust. _Kriff_. Rey hadn’t realized he’d been looking at her. How long had he been aware of her watching him? 

“Are you feeling sick?” Ben asked her as his brother came back into the room holding a cup. “Finn, I think she might need to--”

“No, no,” Rey insisted, shaking her head and allowing Finn to help her up out of the chair. “It’s fine. I can hold my liquor. I just…” Rey gave a quick body shake, as if she could shimmy off her previous train of thought. “I just had an unsettling thought and I’d like to scrub the inside of my brain out with some soap. But since that’s physically impossible--” Rey scooped up her bag again and gestured in the direction of the back half of the house. “I think it’s high time I got some sleep.” The fact that it would be in Ben’s bed was unfortunate, but probably unavoidable at this point. Rey just hoped she still had enough alcohol in her system to blur the mental misstep from her memory when she woke up in the morning. 

Leia nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. Finn, can you make sure she’s got everything she needs?”

“On it,” Finn said, already following Rey down the hallway. 

As they passed Finn’s room, Rey pulled up short, causing Finn to run into the back of her. “Sorry, sorry…” Finn apologized. When Rey didn’t start moving again, he added, “What’s wrong?”

Rey pursed her lips, staring in at Finn’s bed. “Can I just stay in your room tonight?” she asked.

Finn stared at her for a long moment. “...Why?” he finally asked cautiously. 

Rey closed her eyes and shook her head. “No reason.” Starting forward again, she continued, “Actually, it’s because I don’t want to catch Malice from touching any of your brother’s things. Do you think it’s contagious?”

Finn followed Rey into Ben’s room, grabbing a towel from the shelves in the hall on his way. He set the folded cloth down on the stark, low dresser along one wall and turned to lean back against it, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“You know you haven’t thanked Ben yet. For the use of his room,” Finn pointed out. 

Rey sighed dramatically. “You know I love your family, Finn; most days I wish it was mine, instead of the one I got, but--” Rey raised her hands in surrender. “--I just _do not get_ your brother. How can such a wonderful, loving family produce someone so… _dreadful_?”

Finn shrugged, looking down at her feet. “He is who he is, Rey. And prickly as he might be? I don’t think, deep down, that he’s actually a bad guy.”

Rey’s shoulders slumped, a flare of guilt licking in her chest. “I know, I know…” She tossed her rucksack onto the bed. “But I can’t bring myself to respect someone who doesn’t respect your mom.”

“He respects her… in his own way,” Finn argued.

“I don’t see it,” Rey grumbled, shrugging out of her jacket and hanging it from the back of a chair. “And you still seem to defer to him! You really need to exercise that backbone of yours a bit more. I know it’s in there,” she said, pointing a finger at Finn.

Finn sighed. He was exhausted. Due to a multitude of graduation events, he’d had to interact with more people in the last rotation and a half than he cared to. He considered himself generally a sociable person… he just knew he wasn’t very good at it, and it left him feeling drained. 

With a shrug, he admitted, “He doesn’t listen to me. He never has. What am I supposed to do? Shove him in a trash compactor until he agrees to do what I say?”

Rey sighed and started struggling with her hooded cowl. “I suppose he’s not a huge problem most of the time, considering he works so far away and is almost never around… Hey, have you thought of moving out?” She tossed her cowl on the bed with her sudden change in subject. “You’d have more space to make your own, your mom would be just fine without you, and you could get a place closer to your new job? Or closer to _my_ house?” Rey sat heavily on the edge of the bed, contemplating her boots. 

“Did you know…” Leia’s voice floated into the room from the doorway, but neither occupant turned to look at her. Finn was familiar with her mother’s somewhat drawn-out introductions to her stories, and Rey was intently working on the laces of her left boot, hunched over her knees. 

“...that some cultures believe a hat lying on a bed is a bad omen?”

Rey glanced sideways at the cowl she’d discarded a moment ago. “That’s a cowl, not a hat.”

“It covers your head. Hat, cowl, helmet…” Leia took a sip of the tea she was holding.

“Bad omen, huh? Really? Let me guess. Seven years bad luck? All my hair will fall out? My neighbors will take up ancient religious drumming as a hobby and only practice before dawn?”

Finn, having already heard many of these stories while growing up, shook his head and licked his lips, a small, resigned smile playing on his face. “Depends on the culture. The Trandoshans believed it meant one thing, the Sullustans believed it meant another. Some thought it suggested death or injury, but most consequences centered around never marrying, or being unlucky in love.”

“Pff.” Rey successfully removed her second boot, and flopped backwards onto the bed. “If I ruled the galaxy, I’d get rid of marriage as an institution altogether.” Her eyes closed, she raised one fist in the air above her and stated with hyperbolic conviction, “No more marriages!”

“Well, you _don’t_ rule the galaxy, not all species honor the institution to begin with, and you’re going to be a Jedi, so… you do you, and don’t worry about the rest of us,” Finn pointed out, looking down at the carpet.

Rey gave a noncommittal noise and dropped her hand. 

“Okay, kiddo, let’s let the party animal get some sleep,” Leia said, inclining her head back out into the hallway. 

Finn pushed off from the dresser and moved to swing Rey’s feet up onto the bed, but was met with a sleepy, protesting, “I got it, I got it…” as she crawled under the blankets without assistance. 

As he backed away, Finn picked up the cowl and moved it to the small bedside table. 

“Since when did you become so superstitious?” Rey mumbled.

Finn retreated toward the bedroom door and hit the light switch on the wall. “You’re in my house. If you want to tempt fate at your place, go right ahead.” Before heading to his own bedroom, he shot one last, accusatory glare at the cowl on the nightstand. 

In sharp contrast to Ben’s old room, Finn’s was in a constant, comfortable state of disarray. Books spilled off of the shelves, more than one old hardcover hiding splotches of food eaten hurriedly while studying, and his closet was an avalanche of practical, well-worn fabric just waiting to happen. Rey had always given Finn a hard time about his messy habits and lack of organization, but Finn knew exactly where everything was. The letters he and Rey had passed back and forth as teenagers when he’d gone through a low-tech, tablet-free phase; the cheap trophy they’d won at The Nunnery one trivia night; the expensive jacket Poe had let him borrow and then gifted to him after declaring Finn looked “much hotter in it than I do.”

Finn had been in love with Rey for as long as he could remember, and he didn’t need a hat sitting on a bed--or advice from his brother--to remind him that the direction in which his heart had decided to fling itself was a truly doomed one.

...:::...


End file.
